But, the exciting thing is I ran 300 meters with ZERO foot pain. Chrissie Wellington, here I come! (Now you may applaud).

It’s very small progress, but something to give me hope that I may actually be able to compete in my half ironman on Saturday.

This weekend Eric and I dog sat for my parents and went to the first wedding of the season:).

Since we were gone all weekend and got home very late on Sunday, we did not have time to go grocery shopping. I get sad when my fridge looks like this:

(Hmm, the one thing we do have plenty of, is beer. That’s all Eric, though, I’m not much of a beer girl:).

Despite my empty fridge, I did somehow manage to find something to eat for lunch today. I basically put every random thing I could find onto a plate and this is what came out:

Salad with what little lettuce I could salvage (it was a bit wilty), cottage cheese, chai seeds, dried cranberries, tuna fish, and a hard boiled egg. It was actually quite yummy.

Then it was time to go grocery shopping. And let me tell you my friends, I was excited. The past few weeks have been crazy with grad school finals, and I have not been able to do my usual meal planning and cooking. I was SO excited to get back in the grocery store and the kitchen (I know, simple girl, simple pleasures).

A few months ago I got a mailer for a free two-month trial to BJs (a wholesale club), and have been wanting to check it out for a while. Well, today I finally went. And let me tell you, I did not come home empty handed. Wait, instead of telling you, I’ll show you.

(Just ignore that giant box of Klondike bars, mkay?)

I was pretty much like a kid in the candy store in the produce section. “I can get how many pounds of pears for $5?!?!” Awesome. A lot of the veggies were organic, too! And the fridge is happy again:

With my fully stocked fridge, I was ready to get started cooking dinner and taking lots of pictures. I know, you guys have probably been going through food picture withdraw, too;).

First up, something I have been wanting to try for a while. Mashed cauliflower.

Now, before you freak out and hit the red x in the corner of your browser, let me tell you that I hate (and I mean hate raw cauliflower). But I’ve heard mashed cauliflower is really good, so when I saw I could get a giant head of cauliflower for $2 at BJs, I knew what I wanted to do with it!

I went off of this recipe, but instead of boiling the cauliflower, I steamed it. Then I threw everything in the food processor, and processed away!

Yum! Looks just like mashed potatoes, but how does it tastes?

Well, in answer I will tell you the conversation I had with Eric after dinner.

Eric: These mashed potatoes are really good, what did you put in them?
Me: Well, I can tell you one thing I didn’t put in them, and that’s potatoes.
Eric: Huh??

So, the husband thought they were real mashed potatoes, but with an “extra” flavor in there. Honestly, they really did taste like real mashed potatoes. Delicious.

I also made chicken cordon blue.

And a side salad of dried cranberries, sauteed pears, and goat cheese with poppy-seed vinaigrette.

It was so great to be back in the kitchen again! More fun to come tomorrow!:)
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What’s your favorite salad dressing?
-Mine is probably a balsamic vinaigrette, but poppy-seed dressing is a close second!

Do you shop at a wholesale grocery store?
-I used to have a family membership to Costco, but my family doesn’t have a membership anymore, and I don’t know if I buy enough to excuse a monthly membership fee. But I’ll take a free two-month trial!

I almost thought I’d have to grab something out on my way to the store, but I was pretty surprised with what I was able to scrounge up!:). Aww, thanks! I am totally addicted to your blog already, too. I’m excited for some more recipe inspiration now that I’m back in the kitchen;)

Hahahaha…poor Eric…he was probably confused…when he was little, I used to make “smashed” potatoes. I did not use a mixer to make them smooth so they had chunks of potatoes & I also almost always added stuff like celery, green onions & other stuff….